What Nightmares Are Made Of
by MissMoMo1990
Summary: Past experiences and bad memories begin to plague Raphael's dreams. As the nightmares steadily grow worse, the rest of the Hamato clan tries desperately to figure out what's haunting the sai-wielder to put his mind at ease. 2K3 verse.
1. Chapter 1

It started out normal enough.

He was running across the rooftops late at night, burning off the excess energy that had built up in his muscles from the lack of activity throughout the day. It felt good to move, to be out in the world after being stuck underground for what seemed like an eternity. A soft breeze cooled his hot skin that glistened with countless sweat drops. Using his powerful legs, he leapt easily to the next building.

That's when Raphael's dream began to change.

As he landed on the neighboring ledge, the masonry crumpled. The sudden loss of support caught the turtle unawares and, arms flailing helplessly, he began to fall. During his descent, Raph tried desperately to catch hold of something – a window ledge, the fire escape, any of the clothes lines strung between the residential structures – but to no avail. His fingers lost their grip on all of it, but not before they were scraped, cut, and bloodied. He spun in the air until he was falling face first. The dirty alley floor loomed closer and Raph squeezed his eyes shut, unwilling to watch himself meet an unjust demise.

And just when he should have plowed into the old, cracked concrete, he instead belly flopped into a large pile of moss-cushioned dirt.

Though a lost less damaging, the impact still stunned the sai-wielder. For a moment he lay unmoving, the vegetation's earthy smell flooding his nose. Carefully, he rolled over onto his shell. A quick flexing of his limbs informed him that he had no broken bones, but he knew a dull ache would soon settle into his body and remain for some time. Raph sat up slowly and looked around to assess his surroundings.

The landscape was dull and depressing. Huge rocks were scattered between the few pathetic dead and dying trees. Weapons, rusted and broken, littered the ground. Overhead, the sky was nothing but dark, heavy clouds that grumbled threats of impending rain. The familiarity of the place puzzled Raph and he wracked his brain trying to figure out if he had even been here before. Finally, he recognized it as the same location that Renet had unintentionally taken his brothers and him to on the night they were first introduced.

Mid-evil Europe. Year 1406.

Twisting his upper body around, Raphael spotted the towering fortress that Savanti Romero had occupied. The red-banded turtle cursed both the demon sorcerer and the Timestress as he got to his feet, groaning when his battered joints popped in protest. Those two idiots had been responsible for his predicament then and he was willing to bet that they were to blame now.

Raph brushed dirt from his plastron as he glanced around again. He half-expected and half-hoped to find his brothers standing somewhere close by dressed in full battle gear and ready to strike down any of the zombie soldiers once they erupted from the earth. To his disappointment, there was no one. Glancing back at the castle, Raph noticed the unmistakable orange glow of fire burning atop the roof. Intrigued, and with few other options, he made his way towards the stone building, ever wary for Savanti's Dark Warriors.

Within minutes he arrived at the great wall that guarded the castle. Raph reached inside his belt and extracted his set of shuko spikes. Slipping them on, he scaled the wall just as he and his brothers had done whilst on mission to save Renet. The hothead jumped from the battlements to the inner grounds and almost immediately his attention was drawn to a heap of clothing three feet to his left. Raph walked over to it and picked it up. After a brief examination, he realized he was holding the armor that Michelangelo had reluctantly shed. Confused, his gaze swept the courtyard, searching for his only younger brother. As his focus drifted to the south wall, he felt his stomach drop.

There, crouched down low to the ground, was a giant mutated cockroach.

The beast's bright red eyes were trained on Raphael. A loud growl rumbled forth from its chest and strings of saliva dribbled from its partially open mouth. Rising up on its hind legs, the insect began to advance, each step made faster than the last.

Raph swore under his breath. Reaching for his sai, he braced himself for the impending fight. He managed to dodge the first swipe of the creature's handless arm, but the second one struck him squarely in the gut and sent him hurtling backwards. Shell slamming into the wall, Raph grunted and dropped to his knees. In an instant he was up again and charging towards the roach. Snarling, he sunk a sai into its thigh and smiled when it shrieked with pain. But instead of collapsing as Raph had anticipated, the insect kicked out and the turtle was sent flying once again. This time he landed on the ground, limbs sprawled and staring at the overcast sky above. He didn't even have a chance to think about moving when one of the roach's clawed feet drove into his chest, effectively pinning him. Faster than Raph could blink, the beast leaned in and snatched him up with its strong pincers and shoved him between its jaws.

Instant darkness.

Panic began to flood Raph's bloodstream and his heartbeat picked up speed. Never had he imagined that he would have to suffer this terrifying experience more than once. Stretching out, he tried to stop himself from sliding any further down the roach's slick gullet. It was hot and already his oxygen supply was running out. Trying to remain calm, Raph wriggled his arm, intentionally trying to cause his adversary pain, until he could reach his belt.

To his disbelief and horror, his other sai was gone.

Swearing, the red-banded turtle frantically searched his belt for anything – shruiken, smoke pellets, his shuko spikes – that he could use to bust his way out or at least force the bug to regurgitate him. There was nothing. All of it had somehow vanished and he was left with nothing.

Only darkness.

Raphael began to beat wildly at the roach. Punching, kicking, scratching, he desperately tried to escape. Yet, for all his effort, all he accomplished was to slip a few more inches down the roach's throat. The rotting stench of its stomach contents hit him then and he tasted vomit at the back of his mouth.

Darkness. No air.

He didn't want to die like this. Not as some bug's dinner.

Darkness.

Slipping a little more, he swore he could feel the roach's stomach acid start to burn his toes.

No air.

Raphael started screaming.

It was what finally roused him from his slumber. Bolting upright, he rocked dangerously in his hammock as he looked around his room wide-eyed. His shouts died away as he realized where he was, safe at home and not in the belly of the beast. Breath came in short gasps, eventually slowing to the point that he could suck in big lungfuls of air. He felt completely drenched. Swiping a hand over his forehead, Raph cleared away some of the sweat that had collected there. A shiver ran down his spine as he tried not to imagine that he was coated with mucous from the roach's insides.

Pulling his blanket off of his hot, sticky body, Raph dropped it on the floor and flopped back into his suspended bed. He stared up at the ceiling, the dream replaying itself in his mind.

Darkness. No air.

The sai-wielder sincerely doubted that he would be getting anymore sleep tonight.


	2. Chapter 2

When the sun rose, the intricate details of Raphael's dream were already fading from his mind. At noon, only the memory of an unpleasant experience lingered. By bed time, he had forgotten all about it, eager to settle into his hammock after a day full of training ending with a lengthy rooftop race with his brother Leonardo.

His sleep for the next three nights was peaceful and rejuvenating. Then the nightmare started again. Exactly as it had before.

The run…the fall…the time travel…the solitude…the fortress…the wall climb...

…and the cockroach.

As before, Raph tried to fight the creature and wound up caught in its pincers to be sent onward to the beast's stomach. Trapped in the darkness that lacked any air, a familiar panic rose within the red-banded turtle. His heart began to beat faster, thumping against his ribs in the same frantic rhythm that his fists pounded the inside of the insect's throat.

He was not going to be defeated this time.

Fingers and toes digging into the mucous-slicked muscles that engulfed him, Raph tried to climb back up the roach's gullet. He had made little progress when the bug swallowed. A wave of warm saliva washed over him. Losing his grip, he slipped deeper into the darkness.

Raph cringed and braced himself for the plunge into a belly full of acid strong enough to melt his skin from his bones. As his feet broke through a liquid surface, he squeezed his eyes shut, instinctively protecting them from harm. But instead of blistering heat, he submersed into icy coldness.

Chilled to the core, goosebumps erupted all over his flesh. Further and further down he sank into a seemingly bottomless pool. Confused, the sai-wielder opened his eyes to examine his surroundings. He was suspended in murky, green water – the appearance of which he knew all too well.

Sewer water. He was drowning in sewer water.

Glancing up, Raph saw a light shining several feet overhead. Hope fluttered through him and he began to swim toward the brightness. Arms stroking and legs kicking, he cut through the water quickly and easily. Raph broke through the surface with a splash and bobbed in the water as he looked around.

It was obvious that he was in the city sewers. Dirty, mildew-covered stones arched high over his head to form a vast tunnel. The air was heavy with a stench that Raph had grown accustomed to after several years of exposure. To his right was a narrow walkway which was illuminated by the light that had drawn his attention. It came from fixtures mounted halfway up the wall and spaced evenly along its length. Raph swam for the walkway and hoisted himself out of the water once he reached it.

On a whim, he went left, stepping cautiously over the slick stone. Drops of water plipped and plopped as they fell in unseen places throughout the tunnel. As he walked, Raphael began to recognize landmarks – a circular chip in the wall that was roughly the size of a softball and a crude message spray painted by some artist know as "IceMann"—that informed him of his location. The path that he was on would take him to one of the junkyards he frequented with his brothers and from there straight home. Eager to return to the lair, Raph accelerated his pace.

The walkway abruptly ended and the ninja was forced to step down into ankle deep water to continue his journey. When he rounded the next bend, a strange hissing sound began to echo off the walls. Raph slowed, his senses on high alert for any potential threat to his well-being. His eyes scanned the tunnel seeking the source of the noise. While he was looking left, something landed in front of him, dousing him with a wave of water created by its massive weight. Sputtering, Raph stopped short and wiped a hand over his face to clear his vision. What he saw next made his breath catch.

Towering in front of him was a giant four-legged insect. Long, grey tentacles were attached at random intervals all Its blue colored exoskeleton and a pair of muscular arms projecting from its upper torso brandished sharp claws. Antennae twitched on top of the insect's head, directly above three glowing red eyes. The creature was undoubtedly a mutant.

Bishop's mutant to be precise – completely identical to one that he and his brothers had encountered on the night they first learned of the outbreak rampaging through New York.

"What the hell?" Raphael muttered to himself while reaching for his sai.

The insect hissed again, tentacles flailing wildly. With a twirl of his twin weapons, Raph charged the creature. He leapt from the water and slashed at it, severing one of its extra limbs from its body. A high-pitched screech escaped the wounded bug and it swung an arm in the direction of its tormentor. Raph dodged the blow, countering the attack with a powerful kick to the other mutant's abdomen, puncturing it with his foot. Like so many months before, blue ooze immediately began to spurt from the opening and covered Raph from head to toe.

The red-banded turtle swore in disgust and shoved the dying insect away. It teetered unsteadily for a moment then collapsed on its back, twitching one final time before going still forever. Raph holstered his weapons to brush the ooze from his body. As he did so, he began to question the creature's presence. Bishop had ordered his men to fumigate the entire city with the retro-mutagen that Leatherhead had developed, so how in the hell could this mutant still be wandering around the sewers? Was it possible that a portion of the metropolis had been skipped? Or had the cure not worked?

Deciding he'd rather figure it out later, Raph bounded over the lifeless creature and took off running. He had a sudden sense of urgency to get home and inform his brothers of what had just happened. Splashing through the water, he glanced over his shoulder to make sure that he wasn't being followed. The area behind him was clear. Yet, for some reason, Raph still felt uneasy. His feet pounded harder and his splashes sounded louder as he increased his speed.

Nearly half a mile later, the tunnel he was racing through widened. A current had formed, driven by the four adjacent streams that emptied into the main one by gushing down steep ramps that were mostly obscured by the arched tunnels that housed them. Raph picked his feet up a little higher as he was forced to run against the flow. He had passed by the first ramp when a loud clicking noise reached his ears. Slowing to a stop, he glanced around frantically.

At first he saw nothing, but at his gaze drifted back towards the side channels he caught sight of a pair of red eyes glittering at him from within the darkness of the third tunnel. Raph's uneasiness intensified. The urge to flee was overwhelming, but the turtle found that he could not move. He watched the eyes creep closer until their owner finally emerged into the open. Head tilting back, Raph stared in horror at the familiar human-cockroach monster before him.

"Ya gotta be fucking kidding me," the reptile swore.

Another one of Bishop's unintended creations, the mutant glared down at Raphael with mismatched red eyes. While the right one was large, round, and shiny, the left one still resembled that of a human though the pupil was blown wide. What was once a blue plaid shirt hung from the beast's shoulders, poorly covering its grayed and disfigured torso which connected to its insect-like abdomen and legs. Body jerking spasmodically, the bug began to growl.

"Splicing kit!" it roared at Raph in its confused state of mind. "Bring your splicing kit!"

Taking a step forward, the creature shot five long, boil-covered tentacles towards Raph. He dodged them easily, flipping out of range. The turtle grabbed for his sai and pulled them out just in time to deflect a second attack as the other mutant advanced. On the third attempt, the bug managed to wrap a tentacle around Raph's wrist and tried to drag him closer.

Raphael wasted no words on the bug. Instead, he cut the tentacle with a single stab of his sai. A black goo seeped from the severed appendage as the human-cockroach howled in pain. Arms swinging wildly, it managed to catch Raph in the stomach with enough force to send him flying. He landed with a terrific splash, body slamming into the stony ground that the sewer water covered. Feeling the pain of impact, Raph tried to stand as quickly as possible to counter attack, but before he could even get to his knees, a tentacle encircled his waist.

The ninja couldn't mask his surprise at the bug's ability to lift him high above its head. Feet kicking, Raph prepared to once again slash at the tentacle holding him. As if sensing his intentions, the human-cockroach used another two tentacles to trap both of Raph's arms, rendering him defenseless. Unwilling to give up, Raph struggled viscously, twisting his limbs in an attempt to break free while a flood of profanities left his mouth. He even tried biting at the tentacles that held him, but failed.

His struggles faltered when the creature, again yelling its demand for repair tools, jabbed the barb on its final functional tentacle into his side.

To stay that it stung would be an understatement. Rather, it was more like hot iron had pierced deep into his flesh and sprayed tiny needles into the surrounding muscle. Tough though he was, Raph was unable to hold back a cry of agony. Before his shout died away, the creature withdrew its barb only to thrust it into a different area on the turtle's body.

Over and over and over again.

Mouth open wide, Raph let loose a never ending scream. He felt like he was on fire and thrashed about, desperate to escape and drop into the cool water below him that rippled as blood rained upon it from the multiple cuts on his limbs. After an eternity, the creature stopped the torture and flung Raph away like a broken toy.

The sai-wielder came to rest on his bedroom floor.

Eyes snapping opening, it took several seconds for him to realize that he was fighting his blanket which was twisted around him much like a python. In his struggles he had fallen out of his hammock, which was swinging back and forth free of burden. Raphael untangled himself from the covering and chucked it aside.

His throat felt sore and he ached all over. The darkness made it difficult for Raph to convince himself that he wasn't bleeding in a thousand places. Scrambling for the light switch by his bedroom door, he cursed as he stubbed his toe on some unknown object. He blinked rapidly until his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness and proceeded to check for injury.

The only damage he saw was the numerous scars he had from long-healed wounds. He ran his fingers over his skin, hardly believing that he was okay. That nightmare had seemed so real and yet he was unscathed. Raphael began to tremble.

Leaning back against the wall, he slid down to the floor and hid his face in his hands.


	3. Chapter 3

"Yo, Donnie….ya got a second?"

The question came to Donatello as he was bent over the open hood of the BattleShell. Up to his elbows is black grease, the genius worked diligently on the engine, trying to optimize its performance. It was warm in the garage and that combined with physical exertion had caused Don to break out in a sweat. Glancing up at his immediate younger brother, Don retracted his hands and stood up.

"Sure, Raph," he replied, streaking his forehead with oil as he wiped away beads of sweat. "What's up?"

Raphael might have laughed at his sibling's appearance except his gaze was focused on the exposed engine. He was fidgety, hesitant to broach a sensitive topic for Don. Finally, the hothead mustered the courage to speak.

"Do ya remember that mutagen outbreak that Bishop started?"

Donnie frowned slightly. "That's not something easily forgotten."

"R-right," Raph stammered. He lifted his eyes to his brother's face and quickly looked away. "…uh…ya remember how it created those giant mutant bug things in the sewers?"

"Yes," the purple-masked ninja answered slowly, uncertain what point Raph was trying to reach.

"…ya think…ya think something like that…could ever happen again?"

Don's eye ridges lifted in surprise as he was caught off guard by the question. It was a scenario he himself had contemplated several times, but he didn't think anyone else in the family had considered it. They had all been satisfied with the end of the outbreak and had hardly mentioned it at all since Don had been restored to his normal self. At least, the genius thought with sudden realization, they hadn't mentioned it in front of him.

"Well…" Donnie replied, picking up a wrench that was resting on top of the fender. "...the cure that Leatherhead created works by destroying the chemical structure of the mutagen so it can't alter living cells…" He paused to check that his brother understood. When Raph nodded, he continued. "…which means that a whole new mutagen would have to be made in order to cause another outbreak. Since Bishop didn't intend for one to start in the first place, I sincerely doubt that he has any plans for a second. Furthermore, the only person I imagine capable of making a viable mutagen would be Dr. Stockman who's under Bishop's control. So, while it's possible, I think the chances of it actually happening are next to nothing."

"So there's nothin' ta worry about," Raph mumbled to himself, feeling relief start to flow through him after learning his sibling's opinion.

The comment, which Donnie's sharp hearing had caught, seemed odd to the genius. That plus the fact that Raph couldn't stop fidgeting. Tilting his head, Donnie peered at his younger brother curiously.

"Were you worried about it, Raph?" he asked.

"Huh?" the red-masked ninja blundered. His thoughts had started to wander and it took him a moment to process the question. He waved a hand dismissively. "Nah…I wasn't worried..." Seeing Don eying him doubtfully, Raph explained further. "…I…uh…just had a dream last night that I ran in ta one of Bishop's mutants in the sewers again and I guess it got ta me a bit more than I realized." He rubbed the back of his neck and cast his brother an apologetic look. "I'm sorry fer bringing it up, Donnie."

"It's okay, Raph," the genius assured. "You can't really control what you dream about."

"Yeah, I guess ya can't," Raph muttered in agreement.

The two brothers fell silent, neither sure what should be said next. Raph stared off into space, debating whether or not he should leave. His anxious attitude and his continued restlessness had both Don's curiosity and concern.

"You know," Don began to say, giving the wrench he held a spin. "Whenever I have a bad dream, talking about it helps me cope with the unpleasantness of it."

The invitation to share the details of his experience was not lost on Raph. His brainy brother was often indirect like that, essentially saying "I'm here if you want to talk, but if you don't that's fine." To Raph, Don's approach was much less interrogative than Leo's and was therefore the major reason why he sought conversation with the scientist instead of the leader.

"Eh…I'll be alright," the sai-wielder said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Just a little shook up from how real it seemed."

Donnie wasn't fully convinced by Raph's claim. "You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Well, for what it's worth, I have sensors placed throughout the sewers that monitor specifically for mutant life forms. So _if_ there ever is another outbreak, we'll have a better warning the second time around."

This bit of news seemed to perk Raph up considerably. Lifting his head, he gave his smart sibling a small smile.

"Ya always think of everything, don't ya, Donnie-boy?" he asked.

"I just like to be prepared," the purple-masked ninja replied, giving his shoulders a shrug.

"Ya and Leo both," Raph mused.

The conversation stalled again. Rubbing a hand over his tired face, Raph suppressed a yawn. He would have liked to return to his hammock and try to reclaim the hours of sleep he had lost, but he was reluctant to risk another bad dream. Instead, he figured that making himself busy would be a good distraction.

"Well, Don, I'm bored as hell. Ya want help with anything?" the hothead wondered.

"Sure, I could use some help," Donnie answered, happy for the offer. "I've got a list of things to do that's a mile long."

"Just tell me what ya need me ta do."

The genius jerked his thumb over his shoulder towards the opposite side of the garage. "Both of the rear tires on the Sewer Slider need to be changed. I was going to tackle that at some point today. There are some replacement tires stacked in the corner."

"Say no more," Raph said as he held up a hand. Stepping away from the BattleShell, he began making his way to the other vehicle. "I'm on it."

Don smiled at his little brother as he passed by then bent over the engine once again. "Thanks Raph."

XXXXX

The remainder of Raph's day was devoted to helping Donnie complete various projects around the lair. A few of the larger tasks required the efforts of both turtles and the brothers worked hard together. Conversation flowed between them easily and by the time they stopped for super that evening, Raph was in high spirits.

Mikey had prepared a hearty meal for the family, consisting of pork chops, baked potatoes, and green beans. Raph ate with the savagery of a starving wolf as teenage males were wont to do. While the hothead chewed noisily at his serving of meat, much to Splinter's chagrin, he listened to Leo finalize the team's plan for the night.

"Casey said he'd be here by nine," the blue-masked ninja relayed, glancing around at his fellow clan members. "Then we can all ride to Midtown together." His eyes settled on his brainy brother. "Don, did you finish the work on the Battle Shell yet?"

"I finished it this morning," Donnie answered and took a drink of water. "She should run like a dream now."

"Excellent," Leo replied. "We'll get to Hudson Yards much faster if we drive."

"Okay, someone tell me again," Mikey said around a mouthful of potato. "Why the heck are we going all the way down there?"

Leonardo tried not to roll his eyes at his youngest brother's inattentiveness. "Because Casey heard that there's been some Purple Dragon activity down there lately."

"And we're really going to believe Casey about this?" Mikey asked, completely oblivious to the leader's annoyance with him.

"Yeah, knucklehead, we are," Raph declared, rising to the defense of his human friend. "Casey's a reliable source of information."

"_Some_ of the time," the jokester argued before shoveling another forkful of food into his mouth.

"More times than ya can count," Raph countered. He pointed an accusatory finger at his little brother who was seated across the table from him. "Yer just trying ta raise doubt 'cause ya don't want ta go out tonight. Lemme guess, some stupid movie marathon on?"

"Hey! Carole Lombard is not stupid!" Mikey snapped, looking highly offended. "She is a highly skilled actress which you would realize and appreciate if you watched even one of her movies!"

The sai-wielder scoffed. "Get with the times, Mike! No one watches black and white movies anymore! They're boring!"

"They're classics!"

"Which means that they're more than likely to be on again some other night," Leonardo interjected, putting a halt to his sibling's impending debate. He saw Michelangelo open his mouth to whine and held up a hand to silence him. "All four of us are going to the Yards with Casey. Your movie marathon will have to wait, Mikey."

"Fiiiiiiiine," the youngest relented, his mouth curling into a pout as he stabbed at his pork chop rather dejectedly.

"Regardless of whether or not you engage the Purple Dragons, please be careful tonight, my sons," Master Splinter cautioned as he looked at each child.

"We will, Sensei," Leo assured him.

XXXXX

Casey Jones barreled into the lair at exactly two minutes before nine. With his golf bag strapped across his back and his white hockey mask in place over his face, he was all ready to go. Adrenaline had started pumping through his veins the second he had left his apartment so the vigilante could hardly stand still as he waited for his four mutant friends to collect themselves. There was some reluctant from Mikey who was about half an hour into his first movie, but it only took Leo saying his full name sternly one time to get him moving. By 9:05 p.m., the small group had loaded into the BattleShell, Raph taking the wheel, and were making their way across Manhattan.

"Any idea on how many Purple Dragons we may be dealing with, Casey?" Leo asked, sitting next to the human in the second row of seating.

"Couple dozen, give or take a few," Casey replied as he shrugged his shoulders. "I never heard an exact number."

"Well, a rough estimate is better than nothing," the turtle leader supposed.

"Twenty-four Purple Dragons is slim pickings," Mikey commented from the very back of the BattleShell. He had found a comic he had stored in the vehicle and was flipping through it with half-interest. "We can take 'em easy."

"We're only going to engage them if we absolutely have to," Leo decreed. "This is a recon mission, not a confrontation."

"Awwww," Casey and Mikey whined simultaneously.

"Come on, Leo," the vigilante said imploringly. "What's the point of going after those Purple Dragon scuzzbuckets if we ain't gonna kick their law-breaking butts?"

"To learn information that can help us come up with a plan to kick their butts harder when the time is right," Leo placated.

Dissatisfied with the response, Casey grumbled to himself and slumped in his seat. He turned his attention to the view through the windshield. Traffic was in its usual busy state and Raph maneuvered through it with all the expertise of a true New Yorker. When he turned the vehicle left off of West 57th Street, Casey frowned in confusion.

"Yo, Raph," he said, leaning forward to talk to his friend. "Why are you taking Ninth Avenue? Eleventh is a straight shot to the Yards, doofus."

"I told him to take Ninth," Donnie answered for his younger brother. The genius was studying the GPS display on his phone. "Most of Eleventh is closed for street repairs. This way will be much faster than trying to weave through all of the detours."

"So the city's finally fixing all those potholes," Casey commented, adjusting his mask a little. "About time."

"It'd probably be better if we didn't' drive straight into the Yards anyway," Leonardo stated. "We'd be announcing ourselves unnecessarily." Tapping his chin, he thought for a minute. "If I recall correctly, there's a bar near West Twenty-Seventh Street and Tenth Avenue that's closed down. Let's park in the back alley and head to the Yards from there by the rooftops."

"Sure thing, bro," Raph said, glancing at the eldest in the rearview mirror.

A few minutes later they were pulling into the side street Leo had mentioned. Even before Raph had put the truck in park, Casey was throwing open the door and jumping to the ground. The turtles were quick to follow and the group moved to the roof of the bar. For once, Leo did not need to remind them to be quiet as they headed towards the Yards. Leo led the race across the rooftops with Raph and Casey in close pursuit while Don and Mikey brought up the rear.

The cool night air felt good on Raph's heating skin. Carried with the breeze was the scent of the Hudson River, an unpleasant odor that the hothead had grown immune to years ago. His keen senses were on the alert for more offensive odors, harsh sounds, and strange noises that might indicate imminent danger to him or his family. Ever eager for action, Raph grinned in anticipation as their destination came into view.

As he prepared to leap from the ledge of a brownstone apartment to the neighboring building across the alley, he stopped short. There was no stained concrete spanning the space below him. Instead, it was water - choppy water whose blue hue was tainted by the masses of garbage floating beneath its surface.

Ocean water.

Confused, Raph looked up to survey his surroundings. What he discovered was that he was no longer standing on top of the apartment building. He was standing at the edge of an open cargo door of a freighter jet flying fast thousands of feet above the water. Wind whipped past him, tugging at his mask and gear. The aircraft lurched suddenly and Raph took a couple hasty steps backwards away from the open door.

Spinning around, he intended to ask Casey and his brothers what they made of the situation. To his surprise, both Donnie and Mikey were gone without a trace. Their absence was filled by Hun. The head of the Purple Dragons was dressed in a black jumpsuit with the Purple Dragon emblem stitched on his right arm. A parachute was strapped across his broad back. As Raph stared, Hun began to charge him only to be intercepted by Leo and Casey.

And at last everything clicked for Raph.

Another dream. He was having another dream. This time it was about the night they had tried to stop the Purple Dragons from stealing Neo-Tech equipment right out of the sky.

Raph swore loudly having had more than enough of these nighttime experiences. He willed himself to wake up, even closing his eyes to better concentrate. When he opened them again, the only thing that had changed was his comrade's positions as they continued to battle Hun. The sai-wielder tried a few more times to end the dream, but finally resigned to the fact that he could not. Apparently, he would have to let this one play out.

The few dozen wooden crates that the jet had been transporting and Hun's henchmen were no longer on board. Assuming the dream was accurately mimicking real life, Raph must have entered it mere seconds after he and Leo had pushed the last few crates, and consequently Purple Dragons, from the aircraft. If events proceeded as Raph recalled, he would need to join in the skirmish in order for them all to make it back down to the ground.

No sooner had the thought occurred to him than Casey rushed his lifelong enemy. Hun seized Casey around the middle and easily tossed him over his shoulder. The smaller human's momentum from running transferred to his involuntary flight, pitching him on a speedy path to the open cargo door.

"Casey!" Raph yelled in alarm.

He reached for a sai and flung it, aiming to catch the strap on his friend's golf bag and pin it to the interior of the fuselage. The weapon missed its mark by millimeters and grazed the door seal as it soared to the outside void. Raph's eyes widened in horror. Casey passed over the jet's perimeter. He seemed to hover in the air for a few seconds as he looked around frantically for a solution to his dilemma. His gaze settled on Raph and then he plummeted.

"Casey!" the red-masked ninja screamed again. He sprinted to the end of the aircraft, hand extended as if he might still be able to grab a hold of his friend. "Casey!"

The vigilante had already dropped a hundred feet. His supine position and dangling limbs made him look like a falling rag doll. Further below, the Hudson River reflected the full moon. Raph could only wish desperately that the plunge into the dirty water would not be a severe enough impact to kill Casey.

"Raph!"

Raphael had been too distracted by his best friend's fate to be aware of the happenings going on behind him. He snapped his head around when his older brother called him name. Leonardo was still fighting Hun and struggling to gain the upper hand. Clearly, the terrapin leader was seeking help. Taking a final glance in Casey's direction, Raph turned to render aid. The hesitation cost the turtles dearly. Hun grabbed Leo by the lip of his shell and with a mighty grunt hurled him into Raph.

The katana-wielder hit hard, knocking Raph off of his feet. Together they toppled out into the unsupportive sky. Raph felt his stomach drop before the rest of his body did. Numb with shock, he glanced up at the departing jet and saw Hun standing at the door, a sadistic grin on his scarred face. Then Raph blinked and the aircraft had disappeared.

In their descent, the two siblings had become separated. Raph cast about for Leo and spotted him to his left and slightly above. The leader was straining to reach his little brother. Leo's mouth was moving, but the upward rush of angry wind drowned out the words he was shouting. Fighting gravity, Raph used every ounce of strength he possessed to maneuver his body so that he could try to grasp Leo's hand.

Their fingers brushed, yet couldn't intertwine. Leo's face was apologetic as he stared down at Raph, unable to clench anything but air. Then a particularly strong gust of wind knocked into Leo and drove him further away.

"Leo!" Raph called. "Leo!"

His cries went unheard. Leo had vanished, too, and Raph felt the first touch of fear grip his spine. As the ferocity of the wind increased, he was battered about until eventually he was face down. The speed at which he was falling made his eyes stream with tears and he could barely keep them open. It felt like his skin would be ripped from his bones. Already, he was imagining what he would feel when he splashed into the Hudson.

Except he wasn't falling towards the river.

The surface of the earth loomed closer. There was no body of water to catch him.

Just a faded asphalt highway with freshly painted yellow lines.

Full blown panic struck Raph like a lightning bolt. His heart hammered wildly in his chest and his lungs ceased to function properly. He began to struggle against the downward pull, trying in vain to defeat it.

_Just a dream,_ he told himself over and over. _It's just a dream…I'm gonna wake up any second now...it's just a dream... _

Despite his mantra Raph remained stuck inside the nightmare. He could now see the strips of black tar that had been used to patch cracks in the aging highway. They magnified with each passing second.

Too much, too fast.

_…just a dream…_

Closing his eyes, Raph slammed into the asphalt.

It didn't hurt nearly as bad as he thought it would. While his entire front stung, the majority of his pain seemed to be concentrated in his nose. A warm liquid trickled down his face. Surprisingly, he was able to lift his head so that he could look down and see that the liquid was actually blood staining…

…the floor of his own bedroom.

Not the highway. His own goddamn bedroom.

The hothead groaned as he rolled onto his shell. He wiped a hand across his beak and confirmed that the blood was dribbling from his nostrils. Gritting his teeth, Raph sat up slowly and looked around. His hammock was a twisted mess. It had dumped not only him onto the ground, but his pillows and blankets as well. He glared at his bed, once treasured and now despised. Twice, it had failed to contain him during the throes of his nightmares.

_At least,_ he thought, _it wasn't about fucking bugs. _


	4. Chapter 4

It hadn't all been a dream.

Raphael lay propped in a nest of pillows and blankets on the floor of his bedroom, staring up at the dark ceiling as he tried to separate reality from fantasy. He'd been at it since he had woken from his nightmare almost two hours ago. After the much contemplation, he's finally reached a conclusion:

The dream had started when he found himself on the airplane and everything before that had actually happened.

Casey came over last night.

They had driven down to the rail yard.

The Purple Dragons had been there.

A fight had broken out.

And at some point during the skirmish, he had lost consciousness.

A dull ache in his head and the knot on the back of his skull told him he must have been knocked out. Try as he might, he could not remember the circumstances surrounding the sustainment of his injury. He did, however, have a few flashes of memory from the remainder of the evening.

Waking up to Leo's face hovering over his.

Being helped back to the BattleShell by Casey.

Getting fussed over by Donnie in the medical bay.

Having Master Splinter make sure he was alright.

And then heading off to bed.

Those images were broken and hazy. Yet, he could recall the entirety of his dream in vivid detail. As his mind replayed it all for the umpteenth time, Raph lifted a hand and gingerly touched his nose. It was still tender from greeting the floor.

A yawn pulled his mouth into a wide "O". He had no idea what time it was though he suspected that it was damn early. Sore and exhausted, Raph draped an arm across his mask-less eyes as the desire to close them grew stronger. Just as he was drifting off, his bedroom door opened and the lights were flipped on which alerted him instantly. Keeping his face covered, he loosed a frustrated growl.

"Did I wake you?" Leonardo's voice asked. Receiving a grunt for a reply, he stepped fully into the room and closed the door again. "I'm sorry."

The older turtle crossed the floor and knelt beside his brother. Raph did nothing to acknowledge Leo's proximity. Unsure whether or not Raph had fallen back asleep, Leo reached out and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. Raph grumbled an incoherent message and shifted his arm enough so that one golden eye glared up at the pesky intruder.

"How are you feeling this morning?" Leo asked, the concern displayed on his face genuine.

"Never better," Raph replied in his typical sarcastic fashion. Closing his eye again, he moved his arm back into place over it. "Thanks for asking. Ya can leave now."

"That good, huh?" the leader joked, ignoring the latter part of his brother's response. When Raph remained silent, Leo prompted him again. "How much do you remember from last night?"

Raph drew a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, trying to keep his irritation with his sibling in check. "Not a helluva lot. I remember driving ta Manhattan and parking at the bar. Everything after that's just bits and pieces."

"You were knocked out."

"Yeah, I figured out that much. What happened?"

"A few of Purple Dragons were making their getaway, lost control of their car, and drove it into one of those mobile office trailers sitting at the edge of the Yards," Leo explained. "The structure collapsed, taking you down with it."

"Ya sure those pricks weren't swerving ta try and hit me?" Raph questioned.

"They were swerving to _avoid_ you," the katana-wielder corrected. "Because, of course, you were trying to stop them." His tone filled with disapproval. "After I ordered you to let them go." He gazed over the assortment of cuts and bruises decorating his brother's body from head to toe. "You acted recklessly and you could have been more seriously hurt. Don said you're lucky you didn't end up with a concussion."

"Blah, blah, think before ya act, blah, blah, listen ta me next time, blah, blah, stop acting like a hothead, blah," Raph stated mockingly. "There. I just saved ya fifteen minutes of lecturing. Now ya can go meditate or do whatever it is ya like ta do when ya ain't chewing my ass out."

Leo was not amused. Mouth set in a firm line, he pulled Raph's arm out of the way. "Raphael, I'm trying to have a serious discussion with you."

"And I'm trying ta get some sleep after being crushed by a fucking trailer!" the red-masked ninja snapped as his eyes shot open. He scowled at his big brother and yanked his arm free. "Could ya save the damn sermon for later?!"

Before Leo could offer a response, the door opened to reveal Donatello. The genius held in hand a bottle of water and a clear plastic medicine cup with two acetaminophen tablets in it. He lingered in the entryway for a moment as he took in the scene before him.

"Oh, good, he's awake," Don said finally, moving to kneel next to Leo.

"Sure, invite yerself on in," Raph told the new arrival acrimoniously. Not one to discriminate, he had the same scornful look for Don that he had for Leo. "I don't mind at all."

"And acting like his usual grumpy self, I see," Donnie commented, completely unfazed by the rude greeting. He set the water and the medicine down on the floor then proceeded to check the bandage on Raph's right thigh that was covering a nearly three-inch gash. Whether Raph had received it from the fight itself or the trailer's aluminum siding falling on him was anybody's guess. As he worked, Don attempted to question his wounded brother. "How's your pain this morning?"

"I already told Wonder Boy I was fine," Raph answered and batted Don's hand away. "Will the two of ya leave me alone already?"

Grunting, he rolled to his side to face away from his brothers. The movement made his battered body remember what his mind could not. A few choice curse words slipped from Raph's mouth as pain paraded through his nervous system. His discomfort did not escape the other turtles' notice.

"On a scale of one to ten, how bad is it?" Don inquired.

"I said I was fine," the sai-wielder muttered, adjusting the pillow beneath his head to a more comfortable position.

"Right," Don replied dubiously. He picked up the medicine cup and shook it slightly, making its contents rattle. "I brought some acetaminophen that I want you to take. It will help with whatever pain you might be feeling and is okay to take even if you are 'fine'. Can you sit up, please?"

Raph sighed heavily while rolling his eyes. Compliance, he figured, would be the fastest way to get Don and Leo out of his room. Slowly, he pushed himself into a sitting position and held his hand out for the pills.

Don hid his surprise at seeing him give in so easily. He usually had to argue for consent from Raph who acted little better than a petulant child when it came to being doctored. Odd though it seemed, Don was not about to complain and quickly deposited the cup into Raph's waiting palm. The younger turtle tossed the drugs back then traded the empty container for the water bottle Don offered him. He drained all of the cool liquid in three large gulps, capped the bottle, and tossed it aside.

"Anything else?" Raph grunted.

"Avoid physical exertion today," Donnie commanded. "That means no practice, no katas, no sparring, no punching bag, and no lifting weights."

"Fine, whatever," the hothead said. Flopping back down into his pile of pillows, he rubbed his hands over his tired face. "Can I sleep now?"

His reply set off alarm bells for both Don and Leo. The two older ninja exchanged worried glances. Raph had never willingly missed out on exercise before and Master Splinter's inference was often required to keep him from defying such instructions. Immediately, Don began to question his prior diagnosis, mentally reviewing all the symptoms of a concussion. Raph had passed the check last night, but Don knew that in some cases the onset of certain symptoms could be delayed.

"Raph, let me look at your eyes," the genius requested while fishing a small pen flashlight from his belt.

There was no resistance as he gently tugged Raph's hand out of the way. Clicking on the light, he shined it briefly into each of his brother's eyes, watching the pupil reaction closely and observing it to be normal. The discovery did not soothe Don any though.

"I'm going to ask you some of the same questions I asked you last night," he declared while tucking the flashlight away. "And I want you to answer me honestly, Raph. Capiche?"

Raphael sighed again. "Capiche."

"Is your vision blurry?"

"No."

"Do you feel dizzy when you're upright?"

"No."

"Any nausea? You haven't vomited, have you?"

"My stomach is fine."

"Is your head feeling worse than it did last night?"

"Feels about the same."

Donatello gripped his knees and hummed as his mind processed the responses. He searched Raph's face for any sign of dishonesty, but found none. Something else did catch his eye though: a smudge of dried blood underneath his brother's left nostril almost too faint to be noticed.

"Did you wake up with a bloody nose at any point during the night?" Don asked urgently.

"…yeah, but…but only 'cause I…"Raph began and stalled. He was embarrassed by the reason behind his bloody nose and was loathe to admit it. Squirming in place, he glanced away from his brother and mumbled the rest of his answer. "…I fell out of my damn hammock and smacked my nose on the floor."

The genius had to strain to hear the last bit and it left him needing more clarity. "Did you stand up, lose your balance, and fall?"

Raph shook his head twice. "I was sleeping and woke up when I hit the ground."

"Were you dreaming before you woke up?" Leo inserted, his curiosity piqued.

Having spent many years of their childhood sharing a room with his brothers, Leo knew that Raph was a motionless sleeper. Once he went down, he stayed down, and didn't move at all unless he was having a particularly active dream. Raph was also much harder to rouse from slumber compared to everyone else in the family.

"Yeah," the hothead quietly admitted and rolled onto his side once more, ignoring his body's protests.

"Was it the same dream you had before?" Don wondered as he suddenly recalled the conversation he had with his little brother the previous morning.

"No…" Raph denied. "…it was just…weird."

Leo and Don looked at each other again. The leader arched an eye ridge, silently asking his scientist sibling to elaborate. Don shook his head then tilted it in the direction of the door, indicating that he would answer Leo's questions after they left the room. When Leo nodded in understanding, both turned their attention back to Raph.

"Well…I'm still fairly certain that you don't have a concussion…" Donnie ruled, addressing Raph's shell. "…but just to be safe, someone's going to check on you every couple hours to make sure you're still responsive, okay?"

"Okay," Raph replied as he closed his eyes.

"Do you want one of us to stay here with you?" Leo asked, his protective big brother instinct kicking in.

"No."

"Alright then," the eldest conceded. "We'll leave you alone."

Don rose to his feet, but Leo remained on his knees. Selecting a loose blanket from the nest, he flung it over his little brother and tucked it into place. Raph was already too far gone to express his thanks. Leo's mouth lifted into a brief half-smile as he joined Don. Together, the two crept silently from the room and shut the door behind them.

"So just how fairly certain are you?" Leo asked as they retreated to the kitchen.

The bo-wielder shrugged his shoulders. "He's coherent, he's not slurring his words, he can answer questions, he doesn't seem disoriented, and he responds to stimuli normally. Sure, he's irritable, but how would you discern that as a symptom of a concussion in someone who's a constant grouch?"

"What about the fatigue and amnesia?" the leader continued.

He, too, knew how to diagnose a concussion. It had been part of the first aide treatment Don had insisted everyone in the family be educated on. Entering the kitchen, they parted as Leo headed for the kettle and Don the coffeemaker.

"Wouldn't you be dead tired if a building fell on top of you? Even a small one?" Don replied, selecting a filter and placing it in the brewing basket. "And amnesia doesn't automatically indicate a concussion. Even minor head trauma can cause a person to experience brief memory loss." Scooping up a generous portion of his favorite brand of coffee, he dumped it on top of the filter. "The only option we have really is to watch Raph closely for the next couple of days to make sure he isn't developing any severe symptoms of a concussion."

Stepping over to the sink, Leo turned on the water to fill his kettle. "Right. We should update Master Splinter and Mikey about the situation over breakfast." He returned to the stove and plunked the kettle down on the front burner which he then powered on. "So about that dream you mentioned…"

"Yesterday Raph told me he had a dream about one of Bishop's mutants," Donnie explained. He took Leo's place at the sink and filled the coffee pot with water to its maximum serving size. "He seemed pretty shook up about so when you asked him if he had been dreaming I wondered if he had the same one."

"Hmmm…" the blue-masked ninja mused, retrieving the tea canister from the cupboard. "Raph doesn't have nightmares often."

"No, he doesn't," Don agreed, pouring the collected water into the coffeemaker's reservoir. "But you know that they're always really bad when he does."

XXX

Leo had volunteered to be the one who checked on Raph throughout the day. As a frequent victim of the hothead's hostility, he felt himself better prepared to deal with Raph's sour mood more than the rest of the family. At each waking, Raph had been able to prove that his brain still worked with all the sass Leo had anticipated. During the latest one Raph had dismissed his big brother with a rude hand gesture and Leo took that as a strong sign that Raph was going to be just fine.

Raph, meanwhile, had lost count of the number of times his rest had been disrupted. To him, it seemed like he had barely fallen asleep before he was being nudged awake and bombarded with the same stupid questions over and over again. He developed an intolerance for Leo and had no qualms about expressing it whenever he opened his eyes to find the other ninja staring down at him. Around 9:30 that night, Raph hit his breaking point.

"Dammit, Leo!" he yelled when he felt a hand shaking him by the right shoulder. Keeping his eyes shut, he turned his head so that his face was buried in the pillow. "Go the fuck away!"

The shaking persisted. Enraged, Raph's left hand shot out and wrapped around the wrist of the limb that was disturbing him. He squeezed it with all his might, not immediately registering the fact that the arm he held was too narrow to belong to Leo.

Or his remaining brothers for that matter.

It was only when fingernails began to dig into his flesh that Raph realized there was a stranger in his presence. Out of surprise, his eyes popped open and he twisted his head around to look at his catch. The lights were off though and he could barely make out the silhouette of someone hovering above him.

"What the fuck?!" Raph shouted in alarm.

Releasing the arm, he kicked at the unknown person trying to both put some distance between them and harm whoever it was. His foot grazed something solid and as he sat up he watched the dark figure rise and rush for the door. Wide awake now, Raph scrambled to his feet and gave chase to the intruder.

And just when it should have needed to stop to open the door, it vanished.

Dumbfounded, Raph skidded to a halt mere inches from the heavy wooden door. No one was there anymore, but he was sure he hadn't imagined things. Deciding that it must have been Mikey playing a stupid trick on him, Raph grabbed the doorknob, twisted it hard, and yanked. Anger fully fledged, he stomped out into the lair.

The other members of the Hamato clan were gathered in the living room watching a movie together. They had all jumped upon hearing Raph's door slam loudly against the wall. Their heads swiveled in the direction of the hothead's room and witnessed him barreling towards them, clearly mad about something. Teeth grinding and fists forming, Raph stopped directly in front of Mikey who was seated on the couch between Master Splinter and Leo.

"S'pose ya think yer real funny, don't ya, ya little shit!" Raph hissed as his eyes flashed dangerously.

"Raphael!" Splinter admonished. "You have no right to speak to your brother that way!"

Michelangelo had flinched when his brother started speaking. Eying the threatening emerald fists warily, he wracked his brain trying to think what he could have possibly done to earn Raph's fury.

"…uhhh…what are you talking about, Raph?" he questioned meekly, sinking deeper into the couch cushions as if they might afford him some protection.

"Don't act innocent!" the sai-wielder snarled. "Ya snuck inta my room ta scare the hell out of me while I was sleeping!"

"Raphael!" Leo scolded. Springing to his feet, he placed a hand to Raph's chest to prevent him from attacking the youngest. "Mikey has been out here all evening watching TV!"

Raph turned his burning gaze on Leo. "Then who _the fuck_ was in my room just now?!"


	5. Chapter 5

Raphael's question had left the room in a state of utter confusion. Each of the four movie watchers exchanged questioning glances before settling their attention back on their hotheaded family member. The distraught turtle was clenching and unclenching his fists repeatedly as he looked around at everyone accusingly. Leonardo was the first one to break the silence, putting all effort into making his tone sound placating rather than patronizing.

"Raph, nobody has gone in your room since the last time I checked on you an hour and a half ago," he assured. "We've all been out here watching a movie together."

But Raph wasn't easily convinced and shook his head vehemently. "Someone shook me awake, I pulled their hand off me, and then they ran out! I wanna know who's messing with me _right now_!"

"No one is messing with you," Leo told him, keeping a loose hold on his brother. "We wouldn't do that to you while you're recovering from an injury."

"Yeah, right!" Raph scoffed, shooting his little brother another withering glare.

"Raph, you were probably just having a very realistic dream," Donatello reasoned. Standing, he walked over to his blade-wielding brothers to lend the eldest his support. "Leo's been waking you up all day. Your subconscious must have imagined it was happening again only this time when you woke up, Leo wasn't actually there. Anyone would be unsettled by that."

"I didn't imagine shit!" the red-masked ninja snapped, rounding on Don. "Someone was there!"

"Okay, okay, Raph," Leo soothed as he quickly inserted himself between his middle siblings. He knew he needed to get the situation under control and fast. "Just take a deep breath. You're exhausted and in pain. You need sleep. Why don't you go back to bed and we can talk about this in the morning, alright?"

"No!" Raph rejected. "I ain't going ta bed…!"

"Raphael! That is enough!" Master Splinter interjected as he stood from the couch and approached his cluster of children. "Leonardo has already told you that no one has disturbed you. There is no reason for you to doubt his claim. You are tired, my son." He pointed towards Raphael's room. "Do as your brother said and return to bed."

Rebellion blossomed within Raph and the urge to defy his father nearly overwhelmed him. Gritting his teeth, he managed to subdue it. He could not, however, resist the temptation to shove Leo aside.

"Fine," the sai-wielder grumbled.

The others watched as he turned and quickly marched back to his bedroom. Together, they all cringed as Raph slammed his door shut. Leo looked to Donnie and arched a questioning eye-ridge at him. Donnie understood that Leo wanted him to elaborate on Raph's behavior, but the purple-masked ninja was just as stumped as the rest of them and shrugged a shoulder in response. Though he knew he was sailing into dangerous waters, Leo's concern compelled him to follow Raph.

"Get out!" Raph bellowed the second he heard his door open.

The hothead whipped around from his punching bag to which he had just delivered a half dozen frustrated right hooks. His balled fists grew tighter at the discovery that it was Leo encroaching on his territory. He shot his oldest brother the meanest scowl he could muster, but the leader would not be cowed into backing out of the room. Rather, Leo stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

"I said get out!" Raph yelled while pointing at the door.

"Raph, you need to calm down," Leo advised, approaching his sibling at a cautious pace.

Even as the words were leaving his mouth, the leader realized they had been the wrong ones to say. His statement produced a result completely opposite to their intention. Raph's narrowed eyes went wide and his nostrils flared with rage. Tensing, Leo braced for impact.

"I'd be calm if yer dumb ass hadn't followed me in here!" the sai-wielder proclaimed even though he knew that wasn't true. Leo knew it, too, and raised a skeptical eye ridge, but didn't try to correct Raph. "Ya sent me ta bed, so why the hell did ya come in here ta stir up shit?!"

"I didn't come in here to stir up anything," Leo denied. Arms folded over his chest, he boldly faced his larger brother who was now only a foot away. "I came here to make sure you were really okay."

"Ya mean make sure I was doing what ya ordered!" Raph argued. "Well, I don't need ya ta hold my goddamn hand, Leo! Now get out!"

"Raph, let's talk about what hap-…"

"I tried ta talking ta ya and ya didn't want ta hear it!"

"I never said I didn't want to hear it!" Leo snapped. He was trying to keep his temper level, but it was difficult with Raph screaming in his face and gesturing with threatening hands. "What I didn't want was for you to stand there and make accusations without knowing all the facts or to start taking swings at Mike or Don because of how worked up you were! I wanted you to have a clear head so that you could think about what you claim to have seen and decide whether it was a figment of your imagination or not! And I wanted you to be calm so that I could better understand you!"

"I already told ya…" Raph yelled. "…I didn't imagin-ahh!"

He gasped in pain as his bruised ribs suddenly gave a nasty twinge. The bones protested the expansion of his lungs to draw in the deep breaths Raph needed to project his shouts. His agitated movements in the last twenty minutes certainly didn't help matters either. Raph clutched at his right side, gritting his teeth while his whole chest throbbed.

"…Raph?" Leo questioned, his irritation immediately changing to concern. He closed the short distance between them and placed a hand on his little brother's left shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"…get…away…" Raph answered, breathing in short, shallow bursts.

He swiped at Leo, trying to shove the other turtle aside. The blow barely brushed Leo's plastron. With all the exasperation of a mother who had warned her child not to do something at risk to their own health and then witnessed them do it anyway, Leo sighed and began to gently prod Raph towards the hothead's nest of pillows.

"Come on," Leo encouraged. "You really should be resting."

Raph resisted but for a moment before he let Leo guide him across the room.

"Do you want back in your hammock or were you more comfortable on the floor?" the eldest questioned as they drew near the two options.

"…floor…" Raph mumbled, feeling exhaustion start to overwhelm him once again.

Grunting, he slowly got down on his knees with Leo lending unwanted aide. He kept one hand on his protesting ribs while he tried to find in a comfortable way to lay. Leo knelt next to him, gathering up a couple pillows and arranging them behind his brother's shell as Raph chose a slightly propped position. By the time he was settled, drops of sweat had formed on his forehead from the small but painful exertion.

"I'm going to get you some more pain meds," Leo announced as he stood back up.

"…don't want more damn drugs…" Raph rebutted, reaching for his blanket.

"Too bad. You're taking them," the katana-wielder ruled. Seeing his brother's mouth forming another protest, he placed his hands on his hips and issued a threat. "Or I'll have Donatello come in here to examine you again and _he_ will make you take more meds."

Raphael considered his options for a moment, scoffed, and pulled his blanket up a little higher. "…whatever…I don't care…"

Shaking his head at Raph's childness, Leo turned and headed for the door. Raph watched until Leo disappeared through the doorway then cast his eyes towards the ceiling. Calmer and alone with his thoughts, he began to reconsider the source of his rude awakening. He was still certain that someone had been there. His left hand curled and uncurled in memory of gripping a limb in its fingers – a limb that had attacked him with sharp nails. He skimmed his fingers over the area of his right shoulder where the nails had sunk, expecting to feel crescent-shaped divots they had created, but instead all he felt was smooth flesh and a couple of old, familiar scars.

Someone had been there. He just knew it. And he wouldn't be convinced otherwise.

Sudden whispering outside his bedroom door interrupted Raph's brainwork. He was able to discern the voices of both Leo and Donnie. Groaning in quiet despair, Raph pulled his blanket over his head and closed his eyes. A half-minute later, the door squeaked open, but only the oldest turtle entered carrying more pain-relievers in a new medicine cup and a fresh bottle of water.

"Raph?" Leo inquired softly while approaching the covered lump that was his surly sibling. Kneeling, he put down his load and placed a gentle hand on Raph's shoulder. "Are you sleeping?"

"I could be if ya'd fucking let me," was the slightly muffled response.

Leo gripped the edge of the blanket and pulled it down until Raph's face was revealed. It was no surprise that an evil glare greeted him. Raph's golden eyes flicked around the room, searching for the family doctor yet feeling no relief at finding the purple-masked turtle absent.

"I'm sparing you from Don as long as you cooperate," Leo told Raph, guessing at what had him looking so wary. "He said that he wants you to take these." Leo picked up the medicine cup and held it out to his brother who slipped a hand out from underneath his blanket to accept it. "It's a stronger dose so it should be more effective and last a bit longer." Witnessing Raph ingest the hated pills, Leo uncapped the water bottle and offered it next. This time Raph only took a sip before handing the remainder back. "He also told me to tell you that you should know better than to run around punching at things with bruised ribs because healing will take a lot longer if you do."

"And?" Raph asked, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the reprimand.

"And he said that he doesn't think we need to check your head anymore so now you can get some solid sleep."

"I told ya guys I didn't have no damn concussion."

"We had to be sure, Raph."

"Yeah, yeah," the emerald turtle grumbled and waved his brother away. Adjusting the pillow under his head one last time, he closed his eyes so that he could drift off to dreamland. A short two minutes passed and Raph realized that Leo was still sitting beside him. Without opening his eyes, he addressed his older brother. "Ya gonna stay here all damn night?"

"I can if you want me to."

"Did I want ya in here the last time ya offered ta stay?"

"…no..."

"Then what the hell's keeping ya? Go back to yer movie…"

Raph's voice was fading as the tendrils of slumber gripped him and began to pull him into its depths. Leo continued to watch his little brother, wondering about the purported intruder that had sent the exhausted and injured ninja storming into the living room. He knew he'd probably get better answers when Raph was fully coherent, but curiosity forced him to ask questions anyway.

"Raph?"

"…hmm?" Raph answered slowly, barely clinging to consciousness.

"Who woke you up earlier?"

"...don't know…too dark ta see…tried ta grab 'em…they clawed me and then ran…"

"They clawed you?"

"…yeah…on my…arm…"

"Why did you assume it was Mikey?"

Leo waited almost a full minute. Receiving no response, he concluded that Raph had finally dozed off. The eldest lingered for a while, compelled to make sure that his little brother was truly asleep. A light snore began to emanate from Raph. Holding back a snort of laughter, Leo stood and made his departure.

XXXXX

"Hey, Raphie-boy! How ya feeling?"

Casey stood in the doorway of April's apartment, welcoming their mutual mutant friend and the evening's four other dinner guests as well. It was the first night in almost two and a half weeks that Raphael had been allowed to leave the lair and Casey was glad to see his pal outside of the underground home at last. Even if the sai-wielder was wearing a grumpy look on his face.

"I'm fine," Raph replied crossly with hands on hips. "Ya gonna invite us in or are ya gonna make us stand out here all night?"

Standing aside, Casey ushered Raph in with a great flourish. Raph entered quickly and the rest of the Hamato Clan followed him. Their arrival made April look up from the stove where she was minding the contents of two large pots.

"Hey, guys!" she greeted happily, waving to her adopted family. "Glad you could come tonight. Make yourselves at home. Dinner will be ready soon."

"Thank you for having us, Miss O'Neil," Master Splinter said graciously as he took his preferred seat in the old, red armchair. "We could not possibly turn down the invitation to dine on a delicious meal prepared by a chef as talented as yourself."

His praise made April beam from ear to ear though she tried to put on an air of humbleness. "Oh, it's nothing really."

"Can I help you with anything, April?" Donnie offered, bypassing the couch and walking into the open kitchen.

"You can set the table if you'd like," she replied.

Truth be told, he was the one turtle she trusted with her delicate dinnerware. Don opened the cupboard next to the sink and extracted a set of plates. With great care, he carried them over to the table and passed by Mikey on the way.

"Can I help with something, too?" the orange-masked ninja asked eagerly as he approached the stove. "Anything that needs spicing up?"

"You keep away from my spice rack," April scolded, smacking Mikey's hand as he was reaching for the chili powder. "I'm not letting you experiment with my potatoes again."

"Aww, come on, April! I just want to add a little flavor…"

While the redhead was busy wrangling with Mikey and Don prepared the table, Casey was left to entertain the other three. He took a seat on the couch between Leo and Raph. Before he could start a conversation, Splinter beat him to it.

"How is your new maintenance job, Mr. Jones?" the rat inquired. "Are you enjoying the work?"

"Yeah, it's been pretty great so far," Casey answered. "Ain't a better job for me than getting to work on cars all day long."

"Are you still putting in a lot of overtime?" Leo wondered.

"Not as much lately. Maybe one or two days a week, but I'll take as much overtime as I can get."

"Surely the extra hours at work cut into your vigilantism?" Splinter commented.

"A bit, yeah," the dark-haired human admitted. "But I've still manage to hit the streets pretty regularly. Matter of fact…I was out the other night and heard talk that the group of Purple Dragons we tangled with down at the Yards are out for revenge." He looked over at Raph and nudged the turtle with his elbow. "Seems they're a little ticked that you totaled their car."

"…serves 'em right…" Raph muttered, his gaze locked on his feet.

His ill humor was lost on Casey who was too excited about the possibility of a rematch with his sworn enemies. "Word is that they're planning on doing a little B&amp;E down in Chelsea over the next couple of days to try and draw us out. You up for teaching 'em another lesson, Raph?"

"I don't know, Case," the hothead answered, his tone suddenly full of scorn. He shot a hard look around his best friend at his eldest brother. "Ya better ask Leo's permission for me ta go out with ya."

Leo huffed loudly and frowned deeply at Raph. He had hoped that tonight would be pleasant and peaceful, but he should have known better than to expect good behavior from his temperamental sibling. Raph was still upset by his strict orders to remain restful while recuperating from their last tussle with the Purple Dragons and he was not taking the forced inactivity well at all. The two blade-wielding ninjas glared at each other for a tense minute before Raph turned away with a low growl and stood from the couch.

"Raphael…" Splinter warned as his son stalked off. "…where do you think you are going?"

"Ta the damn bathroom! Geeze!" Raph announced, lifting his hands in exasperation. "Can't I even do _that_ by myself?!"

He stomped down the short hall and into the bathroom, shutting the door much harder than he really meant to and twisting the lock for good measure. Almost immediately, he could hear the rest of the group start to talk about him which did nothing to improve his mood. Lamenting the fact that there was no window to escape from, Raph tried to shut his hearing off as he relieved himself.

Raph took his time washing and drying his hands as he was reluctant to return to the company of others. Hanging up the towel, he gripped the edge of the sink and stared at his reflection in the mirror. Idleness wasn't the only factor contributing to his poor attitude of late. Repetitious nights of broken, unsatisfying, and dream-laced sleep played a huge part. Dark shadows had formed under his eyes, but were hidden by his mask for which he was thankful. If Don, Leo, or Master Splinter were aware of those puffy circles, there was no doubt in Raph's mind that he would be prescribed a regimen of pills to treat his sleep deprivation and his recuperation period extended indefinitely. That was the last thing Raph wanted.

Knowing that Leo would most likely come seek him out if he lingered much longer, Raph took a deep breath to calm his temper. A strange scent filled his nose as he inhaled. Curious, Raph breathed again and the smell grew even stronger. He sniffed the air, trying to identify odor until he was hit with sudden realization.

Smoke.

For a moment, he suspected that April had accidentally let something on the stove burn, but dismissed the thought shortly after it occurred to him. This was not the obvious stank of charred food. It was old, painted wood smoldering in a hot blaze.

And mixed with it were the noxious fumes of propane.

Whipping around, Raph bolted for the door only to stop a foot short of it. Gone was the old wooden door. In its place hung a heavy metal one. Similarly, the spotless white tile that lined the walls was replaced by the dismal gray of concrete bricks. The setting was familiar and yet, Raph couldn't quite figure out where he was supposed to be. His head swung to and fro as he surveyed his surroundings - shelves lined with dusty and busted knick-knacks, beaten boxes stacked in the corners, and light from a single flickering bulb mounted on the ceiling – and at last he was able to locate himself.

The storage room down in April's shop. It had once been a walk-in cooler for the grocery store that used to occupy her building. This he had learned on that night years ago when he and his family had sought shelter inside it after they were attacked by Shredder and his Foot soldiers.

Panic was rising within Raph. He reached for the door and gave its handle a hard pull. It was locked. Of course it was locked. He should have expected that. Fortunately, he knew another way out. Backing away from the door, Raph turned to head for the covered hole where the cooling unit was housed.

And almost tripped over Leonardo.

The clan leader lay motionless on his carapace in the middle of the floor. It was clear that he was deeply engaged in a battle with consciousness. His forest green skin, still slick with rain, was riddled with bleeding cuts and darkening bruises. Leo's left shoulder had pulled from its socket, leaving his limb grotesquely useless. More disturbing than that perhaps was the absence of his twin katana.

"Leo!" Raph yelled in shock.

He scrambled to be at his brother's side, but April had already taken his spot. Across from her was Master Splinter, his face twisted with worry while he knelt next to his injured son. Both the woman and the rat were tending to Leo as well as they could under the circumstances, determined to make sure that he stayed alive.

"Raph!" A voice suddenly shouted in his ear. At the same time, a hand tightened around his elbow. "Get us out of here!"

Looking left, Raph saw that it was Casey who had a hold on him. The hockey-masked human was pulling him forward roughly and then shoved him towards the very back of the storage room. Stumbling, Raph reached their only possible exit.

His hands were shaking as he pushed a crate out of the way. The temperature inside the cramped quarters had climbed quickly and the stifling heat made Raph break out in a steady sweat. Raph's vision was starting to go hazy from the wisps of smoke that had slithered into the room through the crack under the door and wrapped around each occupant. Coughing, the red-masked ninja pulled a sai from his belt and jammed the middle prong behind the metal plate shielding the hole in the wall. He grunted as he put all of his strength into prying off the cover. There was a harsh squeal of metal on metal, but the cover stayed bolted. Gritting his teeth and tightening his grip, Raph tried again and met with the same success.

Another coughing fit forced him to stop his efforts. Smoke seemed to fill his mouth, leaving its nasty taste thick on his tongue. Breathing was becoming difficult. All of his attempts to expel the harmful smoke from his body only seemed to draw it deeper into his lungs. An ache settled into his chest, flaring sharply each time he inhaled. Both of his golden eyes were bloodshot and wept freely to ease the sting they felt.

Raphael coughed again.

They were running out of time. Fast. The building was destined to explode at any moment now. He needed to get that cover open and get everyone to safety.

Raph lifted his sai and aimed it at his target. Halfway through the motion, his strength failed completely. His weapon clattered to the floor and he dropped to his hands and knees. Hunched over on all fours, he coughed until he retched and black colored bile spattered across the floor.

Low on oxygen and feeling light-headed, Raph collapsed on his side. Every inch of his insides hurt. Breathing was impossible. It felt like a heavy cloth was covering his mouth and nose. He couldn't draw air…he was going to die…

Then out of the smoke came a dark silhouette. Hovering on the verge of unconsciousness, Raph was certain his watery eyes were playing tricks on him. He blinked in a futile attempt to clear them, but the silhouette didn't disappear. Rather, it had gotten larger. A second blink and it was suddenly leaning over him.

Raph could only gasp feebly now as he stared through half-lidded eyes at the person above him. He wasn't able to make out their shadowy features, but he could tell that whoever it was had long, loose hair.

_April,_ he thought.

It took him a precious thirty seconds to realize that she was sitting on his chest.

Thoroughly confused, Raph fought the ever-pressing urge to close his eyes and surrender to darkness.

Why the hell was she on top of him? He needed to breath dammit!

Raph's throat, raw from sucking in the damaging smoke, rendered him speechless and thus unable to tell her to get off. His next thought was to push her, but his hands were trapped at his sides. Nothing could be done to shake her from her perch.

The sai-wielder's chapped lips moved, wordlessly pleading for April to move…his lungs were completely shriveled…parts of his brain were shutting down…

April leaned forward, her thick locks hanging in her face…

…except her hair was no longer red. It was blonde. A blonde so light that it was only a hue or two away from being pure white.

She lifted her head and at last Raph could see it was not April pinning him to the floor. There where her green irises should have sparkled were a pair of eyes blacker than the earth's deepest coal mine. They sat framed by crow's feet and above a twisted hook nose. The skin covering the pseudo-April's face was pockmarked and pale. Even the lips lacked color and were stretched in a thin lopsided line from cheek to cheek.

Raph's drooping eyes grew wide with fear. His mouth opened in a scream, but no sound came out.

The creature smiled its lips parting to reveal two rows of brown teeth sharpened to needle-like points. It extended a hand, the gnarled fingers ending in long, jagged nails. Touching a forefinger to Raph's temple, it slowly stroked down the side of the turtle's face, leaving behind a deep scratch. That done, the creature withdrew from Raph and slunk back into the smoke from whence it came. The moment its weight lifted, air rushed in to fill Raph's lungs and his vocal chords regained their function.

After drawing in a huge breath, Raphael let forth an ear-splitting shriek.


	6. Chapter 6

Time was a vague concept to Donatello. What felt like passing minutes to the purple-masked genius were actually changing hours. It was this misperception that fostered his habit of tardiness and his reputation for pulling all-nighters. Once engrossed in a project, Donatello was hard-pressed to disengage himself for necessary functions like eating or sleeping.

Such was the case on this particular night. Holed up in his laboratory, Don was busy at a bench cluttered with glassware and supplies he required for a chemical experiment he had been wanting to conduct for weeks now and got around to finally. The scientist would have paid no mind to the clock at all except he needed it to monitor the amount of time his solutions stirred. Still, the fact that it was nearing one-thirty in the morning didn't really register in Don's occupied mind. At least not until…

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Startled, Don dropped a beaker of methanol which hit the bench with a dull clunk and spilled everywhere. He hastily snatched a handful of paper towels to mop up the mess all-the-while mentally cursing whoever was raising a ruckus. Rescuing his research notebook from a growing chemical puddle, he glanced at the clock on the wall and was surprised to learn just how late it was.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Donnie jumped again, knocking his righted beaker back over. Now that he had heard the screaming a second time he realized that it was a reaction to fear. Instantly shifting from chemist to ninja mode, he abandoned his project and headed for the door, grabbing his bo staff on the way.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

The sound was coming from Raph's room. Don sprinted in that direction, a hundred different scenarios flashing through his mind as he wondered what could possibly be distressing his younger brother. He had almost reached the room when a flash of green and blue darted in front of him and beat him inside.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Raph's cries seemed magnified now that his bedroom door was open. Don cringed at the horrible noise. He paused in the doorway, but only to assess the situation. What he saw was Raph down on the floor, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling, and seemingly immobilized. But as Leo approached the hothead, Raph suddenly jerked and started scooting backwards, one hand clutching at his left cheek.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

"Raph!" Leo yelled. Dropping to his knees, he tried to reach out and calm his terrorized brother. "Raph! Stop!"

The sai-wielder kicked at Leo and scrabbled away. His shell collided with the wall and he sat there, cowering against the bricks while Leo moved in closer. Another scream was ripped from Raph's throat as the katana-wielder succeeded in grabbing his right wrist.

"RAPH!" Leo bellowed. Grunting, he wrestled for control over Raph who was putting up a fierce struggle, but absolutely refused to make eye contact. Leo gripped Raph under the chin and forced the younger turtle to look up at him. "RAPH! IT'S ME!"

It was like a light switched had been flipped. Leo watched as Raph's eyes cleared and his thrashing limbs went limp. Raph's screeching finally quieted, much to Leo's relief. Chest heaving, Raph gazed at Leo somewhat suspiciously like he couldn't quite believe who was really there.

"…L…Le…Le…o…"

The hothead tried to speak, but he had screamed himself hoarse. Pulling his hand free from Leo's hold, he extended his fingers towards the leader's face. Raph's apprehension vanished once he was able to touch Leo's cheek and verify his identity. Leo laid his hand over top of Raph's, silently assuring his sibling that big brother was indeed here for him. The eldest tried not to look surprised by how clammy Raph's palm felt.

"What is going on in here?!"

Master Splinter's voice disrupted the recently restored silence of the room. The mutant rat had suddenly popped in the doorway with Michelangelo right behind him. He brushed past Donatello and hurried over to his blade-wielding students. Raphael, he noted, was breathing hard, covered in sweat, and his emerald flesh looked sun-faded. Kneeling down, Splinter placed a comforting hand on his third son's shoulder.

"Raphael, what is the matter?" he inquired softly, his forehead wrinkled with concerned confusion. "What happened?"

Raph's attention drifted from his brother to his father. He opened his mouth to reply, but could only offer a half-hearted rasp for an explanation. Shaking his head, Raph withdrew his hand from under Leo's and used it to hide the rest of his face. A second later, tremors began to rattle his entire body.

"Raphael…" Splinter soothed and gently pried his son's hands away.

A gasp escaped the ninjutsu master for his action had revealed the gash on Raph's left cheek that stretched from his temple to his jaw. Blood was smeared around the wound and as Splinter stared fresh drops of the red substance oozed forth and streaked down Raph's skin.

"Donatello," Splinter summoned and the purple-masked turtle scurried forward at once. Releasing Raph's hands, Splinter moved over and indicated that Don should take his previous spot. "Please tend to your brother."

Lowering himself down, Don took a moment to evaluate Raph. One of the first things he noticed was that even though there was plenty of light in the room Raph's pupils were blown wide. Very gingerly, Don took his sibling's head in his hands and turned it so he could better examine the injured side. To his wonderment, Raph's face felt hot despite the presence of goosebumps elsewhere on his skin.

"Donnie, what do you need?" Leo asked quietly, tearing his eyes away from Raph to look at the genius.

"Some warm, soapy water and a clean cloth," Don replied as he continued to study the cut. "Plus the first aid kit. Please and thanks."

Leo stood and quickly but calmly left to collect the requested supplies. Don had a mission for Mikey, too. Releasing Raph's face, he glanced back over his shoulder at his youngest brother who had lingered by the door.

"Mikey, will you please go to the kitchen and get a bottle of water from the fridge?"

"Sure thing, bro," Michelangelo said and scampered off.

He returned slightly ahead of Leo, handed off the bottled water, and retreated a few paces on the assumption that Raph wouldn't want too many people crowding around him. Leo, with a white towel draped over his right forearm, the first aid kit tucked under his shoulder, and a bowl of heated water in his hands, passed the items over to Don one by one then resumed his former post. Don dipped a large corner of the towel into the sudsy water and carefully started to clean Raph's wound.

"It's not too deep of a cut," the genius announced though he was directing his words to Raph. "So you won't need stitches."

He received no response from his little brother who was staring absentmindedly off to the side. Don frowned slightly as he worked. Raph's submissiveness was far too out of character for him. Leo and Splinter thought so, too, which they silently conveyed to each other by simply exchanging glances behind Don's shell.

Don finished the cleaning and abandoned the towel for the first aid kit from which he fished out a small bottle of betadine and a cotton disc swab. Wetting the swab, Don applied it to the cut. Not even the sting of the antiseptic on opened flesh could rouse Raph from his stupor. For a final touch, Don placed butterfly bandages at even intervals along the length of the wound to hold the skin together. The mutant doctor then picked up the bottle of water Mikey had brought him, uncapped it, and held it out to his patient.

"Raph, I want you to drink this," Don ordered quietly. Turning his head, Raph looked first at his brother and then down at the offered beverage. He took it, lifted it to his lips for a quick drink, and then tried to hand it back but Don motioned for him to continue. "You need to drink all of it. Slowly please."

Sighing internally, Raph did as he was told. He couldn't deny that the cool water felt good washing down his parched and sore throat. It was awkward having his three brothers and father staring avidly at him as he drank. Raph knew they were all dying to learn why he had woken up screaming. With each sip of water, he became less and less eager to share his experience. They hadn't believed him the last time he had claimed someone was in his room. Why would they believe him now? How could he expect them to when he wasn't sure _he_ believed what had happened?

A monster with long claws and sharp teeth had sat on his chest and smiled at him…

Yeah right. It was a bad dream. A very realistic bad dream, but that was it. No way was he going to tell his family about that…that _thing_…

Tipping his head back, Raph finished off the last few drops of water. His eyes fell to his knees as Don took back the now empty bottle. He certainly wasn't going to be the one to instigate conversation.

"Want to tell us what happened, Raph?" Donnie gently probed.

Raphael shook his head once. Clearing his throat, he managed a gruff reply. "…just had a bad dream…m'sorry for waking all of ya up…"

"That must have been some heck of a dream," Leo commented with a frown. "What was it about?"

"…nothing…" Raph insisted while avoiding eye contact. "…don't worry about it…"

"Dude, you woke up screaming bloody murder and your face was sliced open," Mikey chimed in from his brother's weight bench where he had taken a seat. "You can't tell us it was nothing and expect us to believe you. So spill."

"It was about Shredder, alright?!" the hothead snapped. He realized that trying to avoid their questions was a poor tactic for getting them out of his room. Lying would yield much better results. "I thought I was dreaming about when we went ta dinner the other night at April's and it turned into the night Shredder blew up her apartment."

"That's nothing to be ashamed of, Raph," Leo said quickly. "I'm sure we've all had that nightmare."

"Who the fuck said I was ashamed?!" Raphael snarled, shooting a glare at the eldest. Projecting his anger onto an undeserving soul was also an effective tool in his arsenal. "Ya think that I am just 'cause I didn't feel a need ta cry on yer shoulder and tell ya something that ain't yer goddamn business?!"

Taken aback by the hostile response, the leader lifted his hands in a gesture of surrender as he tried to sooth his riled underling. "Whoa, Raph, calm down…I wasn't trying to imply that…"

"Oh, go fuck yerself, Leo!" Raph interrupted. Shoving his big brother aside, he got to his feet and made a beeline for the door. "And the rest of ya can leave me the hell alone, too!"

"Raphael! Wait!" Master Splinter called out to his retreating son. Rising with the aid of his walking stick, he followed at a hurried pace. "Raphael!"

As the tip of Splinter's tail vanished through the doorway, the bathroom door slammed shut down the hall. The three remaining terrapins sat in stunned silence, staring at the exit.

"You think he overacted a bit?" Mikey asked after a few second, his head swiveling towards his older brothers. "I mean, even for Raph, that seemed extreme. It was just a bad dream, right?"

"A worse dream than he's letting on," Leo said thoughtfully. His internal sensor that told him when Raph was lying had been trigged. Under usual circumstances, Leo would be infuriated by his brother's dishonesty, but now it had him concerned. "What's more confusing to me though is that cut on his face." Leo turned to Don. "He couldn't have gotten that from falling out of bed, could he?"

"I don't think so," Donatello opinioned while shaking his head. "If his face hit the floor, I'd expect it to be scraped, not scratched." Standing, he walked over to Raph's hammock to inspect it and the area surrounding it. "And I don't see anything around here that he could have scratched it on…"

"So, he scratched himself?" Mikey suggested.

"That's likely the most plausible explanation right now," Donnie replied.

"Dang," the orange-masked ninja whistled. "Somebody ought to tell him to trim his fingernails."

Leo rose and moved to join Don. "Raph's had three nightmares inside of a month. Three that we know about anyways. I can't remember him ever having them this close together. Should we be worried?"

"…well…" Donnie began, stroking his chin pensively.

"Boys," Splinter's voice spoke suddenly. Heads snapped in the direction of the doorway where the mutant rat stood holding a very disgruntled-looking Raphael firmly by the elbow. "It is still very early in the morning. Please return to bed and get some rest. I will sit here with your brother."

Leo, Don, and Mikey exchanged glances before replying in unison. "Yes, Sensei."

Nodding in approval, Splinter guided Raph into the room to allow the rest of his son's passage. The sai-wielder scowled at the floor as his siblings walked by. It was only when they were alone that Splinter released his most temperamental pupil.

"Please," the ninjutsu master said, gesturing towards Raph's hammock. "Make yourself comfortable."

Feeling like toddler being put to bed, Raph did as he was bidden with much grumbling under his breath. Carefully, he crawled inside his hammock and lay on his side facing the wall. He groped for his blanket and, upon finding it, pulled it up to his chest then arranged his pillow beneath his head. While Raph was tucking himself in, Splinter closed the door and relocated the chair from its spot at Raph's desk to his son's bedside. The old rat perched on the edge of the seat and leaned forward to place a comforting hand on Raph's shoulder.

"Now then, Raphael, tell me what you dreamed about."


End file.
